Arts News: SPACES Finds a Compass

And more local arts news

Given its name, SPACES could hardly pick a more appropriate
show than Internal Compasses, curated by Jeff
Chiplis, Jeanne Grossetti and Vlada Vukadinovic. Press materials
describe the artists in the show as "visual thinkers who map, code and
catalogue experiences and information, then systematically arrange the
material evidence according to personal internal strategies." Images
from the artists include explorations of space defined by lines or
lines of force rendered in some physical way, like Athens, Ohio, artist
Sarah FitzSimmons' tent sculptures that mirror geographic features of
their settings. Internal Compasses opens Friday, along with a
show by Israeli artist Efrat Klipshtien and Brooklyn-based Sung Jin
Choi's Ambient Sound in the SPACELab. Opening reception is 6-9
p.m. at SPACES (2220 Superior Viaduct, spacesgallery.org, 216.621.2314). It's
free. — Michael Gill

TWIN PASSAGE: With the touching, mournful fatalism of a Victorian
family novel, just a few months after the death at 60 of Lucia, her
identical twin and co-administrator of Ensemble Theatre,
Licia Colombi also succumbed last week to the effects of
long-standing ailments.

Yet far more memorable than the manner of the siblings' passing is
the contribution they made during their lives to the enrichment of the
area's arts scene. When Ensemble was founded in 1979, classic modern
drama (which had been the bedrock of theaters from community to
Broadway since the early '20s) had fallen into disrepute and scornful
neglect. With their dual passion and dedicated appreciation for the
best of this repertory — especially the works of American masters
like Eugene O'Neill — the sisters served as our local stubborn
keepers of the flame for most of three decades. Their zeal was to
provide — from the safe houses of their tiny venues —
living proof of this heritage's value.

Their deeply rooted warmth and commitment were undoubtedly
influenced by their father Christopher, a highly respected physician.
But this gifted, close-to-the-surface warmth was just as likely to
flare into fiery contention, and the Colombi twins were known to have
had an often tempestuous relationship.

Whatever their differences and disputes, what finally matters is
that for 30 years, they fought the good fight to protect and project
the theatrical art in which they believed and in which they
passionately wanted us to believe. That's an epitaph more than generous
enough for two. — James Damico